If you want to level up your festive lighting game, you need to be thinking about app-controlled Christmas lights. The ease of use and creative possibilities make them leagues above traditional Christmas lighting!
We think that permanent, app-controlled lights are superior to traditional Christmas lighting for a lot of reasons: they save you from having to hang lights every year, they’re more fun to use, they offer tons of customization, and they’re even cheaper to run than traditional incandescent lights.
Keep reading to find out why we’re so passionate about app-controlled Christmas lights, and why we think they work for everyone.
What Are App-Controlled Lights, Exactly?
App-controlled lights are exactly as they sound: lights controlled by an app. Our Gemstone Lights Hub2 app can be downloaded onto your phone, and you can choose the colors, patterns, and brightness of your lights from there, without having to mess around with switches or climb up ladders every December.
Our app-controlled lights (both track lights and flood lights) are installed permanently, and are designed to blend in with your home without looking out of place in any season—even when they’re turned off. This means you can use them all year to add ambiance or celebrate different occasions.
The Benefits of App-Controlled Lights
Let’s talk about the benefits of our app-controlled lights.
Color Options
We’ll talk about customization more in a little while, but it’s important to note that there are a lot of color options with app-controlled lights (more than 16 millions colors and countless patterns to choose from!).
Unlike string lights, you can get really specific with your color choices to set the exact mood you’re looking for or color match your lights to your favorite sports team or school colors. You can also tie into a theme. So for example, if your neighborhood is sticking to a Christmas color scheme, you can match it exactly.
Brightness
More than just adjusting the colors and patterns, you can also play around with the brightness of your lights through the app. Sometimes you might want lower lighting, something soft and inviting rather than bright and in-your-face: for example, for a quiet dinner party with friends, or an evening in front of the fireplace watching Christmas movies.
Other times, you might want the brightness turned up to the max to draw attention to your outdoor Christmas decor.
You can adjust the brightness using the app whenever you like, even if you’re not at home.
Patterns and Animation
With even the most sophisticated string lights, you can usually only get a few patterns, and these tend to be basic (like flashing on and off or switching through limited colors). With our app, you’ll get a ton of different animations in unusual styles.
For example, you can set your lights to the Gradient animation, which causes the colors to fade into each other for an interesting but less intense Christmas atmosphere – perfect for the beginning of December, for example, when the hype is just starting to build.
Or you can choose something like Chase, which causes the lights to race around the building at high speed. This is so much more fun for kids at Christmas time, so if you’re hosting a kids’ party, this is the one to go for.
Remote Control
With our Hub2 app, you can control your lights even if you’re not home. This is especially useful if you’re at work and you want to light up your home before you get there—who wouldn’t want to come home to a cozy, cheerfully lit house rather than a dark, cold one? It doesn’t matter where you are: as long as you’re connected to the internet, you’ll be able to switch on your Christmas lights and adjust them from the palm of your hand.
This is also useful if you’re visiting family for the weekend but still want your neighbors to be able to enjoy your Christmas lights while you’re gone. You can manually adjust your lights from afar, set custom timers, or set sunrise/sunset timers that will automatically turn your lights on at dusk and off at dawn.
Hub2 even supports adjustable offsets for your sunrise/sunset timers to ensure your lights adapt to daylight changes.
Preferences
You can play around with animations and colors to your heart’s content, and if you stumble upon one you really love, you can save it as a preference on the app. That means you can quickly find it next time you want it.
The same goes for color combinations. If you create a look you love that perfectly captures the Christmas spirit you’re going for, you can quickly call it up again when you need it—or even find it again a year later when the holidays roll around again.
When you use our new Hub2 app, your patterns and folders sync with the cloud, so you can access them from your account on any device. This makes it easy for the whole family to save and access their favorite Christmas light patterns and reuse them year after year, even as your phones and tablets get upgraded or replaced.
Mood Setting
It’s amazing how much the mood can change with a shift in lighting. You can go for a cool, icy-blue theme, for example, to cast dramatic shadows and create a striking look that looks stunning in the snow. Or you can set your lights to a warm white to create a welcoming look for Christmas visitors. Or, you can go for flashing red and green for that classic Christmas party vibe that kids love.
App-Controlled Christmas Lights and Smart Home Systems
With a few easy steps, you can link Gemstone Lights to your smart home systems like Amazon Alexa or Google Home.
You don’t need to be really tech-savvy to do this, and your installers can help you get everything set up. You can also reach out for support at any time if you need assistance. Once you’ve got everything paired, you’ll be able to control your lights using your smart home system, so you won’t just be tied to the app. If you prefer voice commands, this can work really well for you.
Endless Customization
We love our Gemstone Lights app because through it there are so many possibilities for personalization. Whether you’ve gone for commercial track lights or you’ve decided on flood lights for a more dramatic effect, you can get super creative with customization.
You can use our premade animations, or you can create your own patterns using custom colors and an animation. The Pattern Builder allows you to pick an animation to start with: this means the way the lights move, whether you want a rapid flashing, or soft twinkling, etc.
You can then customize the direction the lights move in and the colors you want (up to ten with our original HUB app and 20 colors with the new Hub2 app) to include in your custom pattern. You can also preview the effect before you set it up.
Also, you can even isolate specific lights. So, if you want your doorway to remain lit at all times, you can do that while the lights flash around the rest of your building.
This is a really fun activity, especially for Christmas, and the whole family can get involved. You could even do a Christmas light pattern competition, and get everyone to vote on their favorite, or allow each family member to control the lights on a specific day of the week.
You might also be interested in: Create a Cozy Home for the Holidays with Thanksgiving Outdoor Lights
User Interface
We’ve designed our app to be as user-friendly as possible, while still allowing for a ton of in-depth customization.
You can quickly navigate to our premade patterns and get them going right away, or you can adjust the app to suit you: for example, you can create folders with your favorite Christmas light patterns or set custom architectural patterns so you can quickly find your preferred look.
We add new patterns all the time, so you can use the app to download them and try them out yourself with no hassle, even if you’re not very tech-savvy. We always have support available if you get stuck, so everyone can make the most of the app to light up their home at Christmas and beyond.
App-Controlled Christmas Lights vs Traditional Christmas Lighting
How do app-controlled Christmas lights compare to traditional Christmas lights? Here’s why we think app-controlled Christmas lights are the way forward:
No Ugly Overhang
Our lights are designed to fit neatly around any building, with no overhang or visible wires. This means that passersby will see only the sparkling lights from the road – not the system that runs it.
Fun for Kids
App-controlled outdoor lights provide a dizzying array of patterns and colors for your kids to enjoy this holiday season.
You can either use the pre-built patterns or create your own customized patterns. Whatever lights your kids want for their favorite holidays or birthday parties, you can make it happen.
It’s up to you and your kids to put on the light show you really want for the outside of your home. You can get detailed with your patterns, changing the color, animations, and brightness as often as you like.
New pre-built patterns are frequently added to the system and can be downloaded on demand to your smartphone via the Hub2 app.
Saves Money on Running Costs
Do you know how much traditional incandescent lights cost to run?
You might be surprised. One of the unexpected benefits for homeowners of switching to LED-based outdoor holiday lights is the lower monthly electricity bills, which most families or businesses can agree is a priority right now!
LED technology uses less energy on creating heat and this extra efficiency translates to lower voltage and lower electricity usage. Over the years, the money saved will gradually pay back the initial investment on the lights.
Easy Installation
You will not need to re-hang your lights every Christmas with our programmable lighting system. Once fitted, the lights remain permanently ready to illuminate your home or business on any occasion.
Customized aluminum tracks are installed between the trim of your home (soffit and fascia).
The long-lasting LED lights that sit in these tracks are controlled from a convenient, proprietary app, which means no more scaling ladders to regularly hang lights or replace broken bulbs.
Full Control
The kids are getting on to you to get the decorations up and you convince them to start with the outside lights first.
All you have to do is access the cloud-based controller app on your smartphone and start playing around with the pre-built patterns or customizing your own designs. It’s as simple as that.
You can set multiple timers in advance, saving you from having to manually switch your lights on and off every day.
This can all be arranged from your living room sofa or your office—all you need is an iOS or Android device and an internet connection. If you use Alexa or Google Home, your lights can be integrated with your smart home system.
You are in control. What could be more convenient?
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have more questions, we may have the answer right here:
Question: The weather is harsh where I am—can your lights withstand it?
Answer: Yes, our lights can withstand the harshest weather. They were originally designed to be able to deal with Canadian winters, so they’ll keep going in wind, snow, rain, and extreme heat.
Question: Is the app easy to use even if I’m not very good with technology?
Answer: Yes, the user interface is designed to be intuitive. You may need a few moments to familiarize yourself with all the customization options, but the app itself is easy to use.
Question: Are your app-controlled lights safe?
Answer: Yes. Our LED lights are safer than traditional lights to hang (no scaling ladders!) and they’re safer and more reliable in the long run, too. Our lights are covered by CSA and ETL certifications for North America, so you can have peace of mind.
Question: What if a bulb breaks?
Answer: In the rare event that a bulb breaks, it’s covered for five years under our warranty. Each of our authorized dealers is responsible for their own labor warranty and you can get in touch with them to quickly replace it.
Are App-Controlled Christmas Lights Right For You?
We think that app-controlled Christmas lights are the future. The sheer amount of control and flexibility app-controlled lights provide make them fun, exciting, and easy to use.If you want to find out more, you can contact your local Authorized Dealer and arrange a quote and get the ball rolling for your incredible new smart Christmas lights!